As a 3-time Ninkasi winner and the highest ranking BJCP judge, what advice do you have for all those homebrewers looking to go pro? There's a lot of good homebrew out there these days, but I feel as if a lot of homebrewers are trying to jump in the game before mastering the art and science of the craft. (Note: business experience is a whole other issue, I'm more curious of your take on the brewing/judging side of things.)

Gordon, Your book has been very helpful to my brewing and is one of my go to reference books. With that being said, is there anything in the book that you would change or clarify based on new information or experience? Thanks again.

For an overall BOS round for a moderately sized competition, say 200-400 entries, do you think all gold medal winners from all 23 beer categories should be included in the final BOS round? I've seen many comps just pick the top 10 highest scoring beers or so, and I think that fails to take into account scoring variation.

How important was becoming a highly ranked judge to improving your brewing?

What has been one of your favorite judging experiences/memories (I'm sure you have many to pick from)?

My question is how does a brewer develop great malt aroma in beer? Is it the type of malts used? Is it the brewing process? Is it a water profile? I'm sure the answer is all of the above, but I'm wondering if there is a major factor in overall malt aroma? My lagers tend to have a much better malty flavor than a malty aroma. I use fresh, quality ingredients and have even built my water up from RO, so I'm at a loss.

It seems that when I brew my favorite recipe, I can have great hop aroma in about 2 weeks of bottle conditioning, but the malt flavors are missing, or I can have a nice roasty malty tasting beer in 4 weeks but the hop aroma is almost non-existent. How can I get that balanced malty and the nice hop aroma at the same time? I should note that I bottle condition... would kegging help?

Pleasure meeting you at the NHC in Philly during the BJCP Tasting Exam, and again at your book signing. I must say that you were super friendly and approachable, which was a pleasant surprise given your notoriety.

In your book, and you when you talk about your home brewery I cannot help but think that you have a Sabco Brew-Magic setup, is that what you brew on?

BTW, loved your recent "Hop Techniques" podcast on BeerSmith!

Cheers!Dan

« Last Edit: October 26, 2013, 04:10:57 AM by HoochLovesBeer »

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Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. -Ernest Hemingway

Are there plans to update the guidelines for IPAs, category 14? It seems that the style has rapidly evolved, both with alcohol content (triple IPA) and with balance between hops and malt. The current description includes "the malt backbone will generally support the strong hop character," which is not necessarily the case in the current best and most popular commercial examples.

I recently entered a well-brewed variant of a highly hopped IPA (PTY) that scored 42 in one competition and 28 in another. The results varied only based on the judge's interpretation of the style, not on flaws in the beer.

What is your general process on the cold side of making a lager? I have only made 3-4 lagers but none of them have really been up to my standards yet and I am looking for ways to improve. I have temp control, make large yeast starters, oxygenate my wort alot, etc... I tend to have alot of issues with acetaldehyde the most... I have tried leaving the beer in primary for many weeks to allow the yeast to clean it up they just don't seem to...

For a spiced ale; is it best to add the spices (tea or tincture or...) to the secondary or are some OK for the boil? I worry about astringency when tossing cinnamon sticks in the kettle. Boiling wood doesn't sound like a good idea to me. What is your take?

Do you feel that competitive brewers and the BJCP have become too exclusive? Do you think more casual brewers have an equal playing field, particularly at the national level? Is there any thinking about restructuring competitions to address the "submit as many beers to as many competitions as possible" game?

Any recommendations on the testing process for BJCP judging? What's do you think is the best place to start?

Listened to an interview with you on Beersmith. Enjoyed it very much! I had a couple of questions:

* You mentioned that you have a false bottom in your kettle. Do you prefer whole hops or does your false bottom filter pellet hops as well?

* As a big fan of FWH do you have a preferred variety?

* I had read some tips that you gave in Zymurgy. You said that one of the ways you can brighten up a finished beer is to add some phosphoric acid to it. Do you have a target pH range for hoppy beers? Do you think lower pH helps with flavor and aroma? How low is too low?